


runnin' back to her

by steelatoms



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Most people live, Post-Avengers 4, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Reunions, Reupload Bc AO3 is mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 16:19:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15777666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steelatoms/pseuds/steelatoms
Summary: When the dust settles, Quill awakes to a completely different land.





	runnin' back to her

**Author's Note:**

> so yea this is a reupload and i'm still sad over starmora

When the ash cleared and the dust settled, Quill found himself awakening to the sound of raucous laughter and cries of happiness in a land he didn’t recognise.

 

Groaning in pain, he sat up, feeling agony radiate all over his back and he opened his eyes, blinking at the bright sunlight shining all around him.  This place was bright and hot and smelled like grass.

 

A hand clapped his back and he jumped, looking to attack whoever touched him, but his attempts were feeble and were quickly reversed.  The blurry shapes in his vision began to become more solid, with a muffled voice catching his attention.

 

 _“Quill?”_ the grey shape asked, sounding awfully like Drax.

 

Quill blinked some more and found his old friend staring at him with a grin, something that confused him as the last thing he could remember was seeing Drax crumble to dust from the effects of the Infinity Gauntlet.  Still, there was nothing grim about Drax’s demeanor, simply gregarious familiarity.

 

Quill attempted to speak but his throat ached, like there was sandpaper lining it and all that came out was a hoarse cry.

 

 _“Wait a second,”_ another, this time unfamiliar, voice spoke, tinged with an accent, “Here, give him this.”

 

Quill looked up to see a regal-looking man handing Drax a bottle of water, seemingly also affected by whatever had happened by the exhaustion in his stance.

 

Drax helped Quill drink some water, and when he was able to speak again, he asked, “What the _fuck_ happened?”

 

“Well,” the other man said, “Thanos clicked his fingers, killed half of the universe.  But with the Avengers, and some outside help… the effects were reversed.”

 

Quill’s breath hitched, _“Thanos…”_ he paused, “God, I shouldn’t have lashed out… we could’ve stopped him--”

 

“Did you not hear the man?” Drax asked, “It was reversed.  It is alright.”  


Quill shook his head, “You must hate me… I denied you your revenge, I--”

 

“Quill, you are my friend.” Drax murmured, rubbing his back, “Regardless of your actions.”

 

Rocket’s voice then spoke, “Hey, Quill’s awake!” and he came rushing over alongside Groot, “Hey, buddy!”

 

“Hey.” Quill said, rubbing his eyes.

 

The raccoon commented, “You never told me your planet was so appealing.  Well, maybe you did, I just never listened. Actually--”  


“-- wait, _what?”_ Quill interrupted, and he felt a flare of panic growing in his chest, “Wh-Where are we?”

 

The other human who had spoken answered, “You are in Wakanda, my friend.  On the planet Earth. I am T’Challa, king of--”  


“I’m very sorry, Your Highness, but I don’t care.” he shot up onto wobbly legs, “I _have_ to get off this planet.  I can’t be here.”

 

Memories of his mother began to flash through his mind, only increasing his panic and he broke into a sprint, nigh-on hyperventilating as he passed hundreds of people; Tony, smiling at Strange whilst holding onto Spider-Boy, a redheaded woman sobbing into a blonde’s shoulder, happy to be alive but feeling extraordinarily lonely and someone who looked strangely like Captain America, only kissing another man, who also curiously resembled Bucky Barnes.

 

Quill couldn’t think of that, couldn’t let himself think of kissing when the only one he wanted to kiss was gone.  So he ran, he ran like he ran on the night of his mother’s death until a sudden wave of nausea toppled him and caused his legs to buckle.

 

He fell down with a thud, landing on his knees as he began to relive the night when his whole life had changed.  He buried his face in his knees, rocking himself back and forth, trying not to focus on the past trauma, to think of things worth living for.

 

Then he thought of _her --_ his precious Gamora, now gone, murdered by her abuser for a rock.  He released a ragged sob at her memory, still struggling to breathe as everything hit him like a knife to the gut.

 

He grabbed some grass and pulled it up, screaming her name as tears began to fall and he cursed whatever deity had forced him to live this life.

 

Memories flooded his brain; her hand on his cheek, their first kiss, the first time they had slept in the same bed, how they had clung to one another some nights purely due to the horrible pasts they _both_ had.  Every one of those memories were now tainted, killed by Thanos.

 

Quill felt rage spiral through his gut and he punched a nearby tree, hearing leaves rustle and feeling them fall, but not caring about the split skin on his knuckles.  He punched again, and again and again, until his hands were bloody and broken and agonising.

 

He sat there for a moment, tears rolling down his cheeks, unable to breathe and thought; _I’m going to die -- again._

 

And he would accept it, would go proudly into the darkness because it was easier than living.  He shakily grabbed his gun from his holster, trying to forget holding it against her chest, the way she was crying, begging him to kill her.

 

He tried to forget pulling the trigger and seeing her sadness as only bubbles came out, instead of the killing blow so that Thanos wouldn’t get what he needed.  He had failed her; Gamora had died alone, and she shouldn’t have.

 

The least he could do is not let her go through eternity alone.

 

_Eternity._

 

When Ego had shown him the universe, he had warned Quill about how everything was temporary, even the woman he loved.  It made him feel sick, and he hated Ego for everything he had done, but it turns out, he had been right.

 

Well, Quill wasn’t immortal anymore, and couldn’t even fathom living an eternity without her.  His hand trembling, he pressed the blaster to his forehead, sobbing.

 

 _This is for my mother,_ he thought, thinking of her warm arms and soft singing voice, and how her last thoughts, even in a cancer-riddled body (he felt another spike of hatred for Ego raise), her final thoughts had been of him, her son, her little Star-Lord.

 

 _This is for Yondu,_ he thought of the very few times where living with the Ravager had been fun, where Yondu had taught him to survive.  He also thought of Yondu’s eyes glazing over from the icy vacuum of space as he perished, of the blue alien’s hands on his face as he drew his final breath

 

 _And this is for Gamora,_ he thought of the wonder in her eyes when they had first danced on Knowhere, Elvin Bishop’s _Fooled Around And Fell In Love_ playing in the background.  He thought of her taking his hand whilst he held the Power Stone, how he had sensed her fear, but also her confidence in him.  He thought of how she had looked into his eyes and admitted that she felt the ‘unspoken’ thing and they had held each other whilst the lights and fireworks had exploded across the skies, lighting the darkness into a cocktail of beautiful colours.  He thought of her lips on his, her tears, how he had whispered he loved her too.

 

He rested a finger on the trigger, closing in his eyes as he shuddered in a sob.

 

However, before he could pull the trigger and end his miserable life, a voice caused him to reconsider, _“Peter!”_

 

He opened his eyes and saw a familiar sight in front of him; Gamora, beautiful and strong and _alive._

 

“Y-You can’t be here.” Quill stammered, “Th-This has to be some kind of trick.” he held the gun tighter, “Y-You’re not _real!”_

 

Gamora ran over and dropped to her knees in front of him, causing him to close his eyes once more since her face was inches from his.

 

 _“Peter…”_ her hand touched his own, feeling undeniably _real,_ “G-Give me the gun.”

 

Quill shook his head one last time, “You can’t be real.”

 

 _“Look at me.”_ she requested, and when he didn’t, she pinched his chin, “Hey.  Look.” he opened his eyes, beholding her in front of him as she whispered, _“I’m real.”_

 

Quill gasped and threw the blaster to the ground before throwing his arms around Gamora, sobbing into her shoulder, _“I-I’m sorry!”_ he wept, still struggling to inhale, _“It was my fault.  I-I should of--”_   


“Hey… shh…” she cooed, running her fingers through his hair, her own tears falling, “It’s okay.”  


Quill shook his head, “I nearly _killed_ you, Gamora.  And then… then that _bastard--”_ he pulled back, “H-How are you--?”

 

“When they destroyed the soul stone, I was revived.” Gamora said, “I managed to get a distress signal to Stark, who had the Milano.  He picked me up and brought me here, where you were still asleep on the ground.”

 

Quill sniffled, “God, I thought I lost you.”

 

“You didn’t.” she cupped his cheek, _“Never.”_   


Their foreheads pressed together and Quill whispered, “I love you, Gamora.  And I’m going to say that every day for the rest of my damn life if-- if I need to.”

 

“I love you too.” she smiled, then pulled him down into a gentle, brief kiss before pulling away, “So, this is your planet?”

 

Quill nodded, rubbing his eyes, “Not much t-to talk about, although this is a country I’ve never visited before.”  


“King T’Challa has offered us sanctuary for as we need,” she said, “I know it’s hard, being on this planet--”

 

Quill nodded, “It is.  But it was harder losing you.”  


“Well, I promise you won’t ever lose me again.” she took his hand and kissed the palm, “Now, shall we get up?  Mantis was very anxious to see you, plus the other heroes discussed something about having a _party?”_

 

Quill laughed, “Well, I might need to clean up a little since I’ve been crying so much, but I _love_ parties.” he squeezed her hand.

 

*

 

When they returned to the palace, T’Challa gave Quill a sheepish smile, to which Quill replied, “Sorry ‘bout that.”

 

“It is alright, my friend.” T’Challa nodded, holding up his hands, “We have all been there.  Come.”

 

T’Challa led Quill and Gamora into the main hall, where several heroes were all gathered, all chatting.  One of them, a blonde in a gold-embroidered red and blue costume, wandered over, smiling.

 

 _“You must be Quill,”_ the woman said, “Gamora here was telling me about you.  I’m Carol. Carol Danvers.” she offered her hand.

 

He took her hand and shook it, “So, were you one of the heroes ashed too?”

 

“Nope, actually, I’m the one who broke the gauntlet.” she replied, “But I hate to brag.”

 

Quill gaped, “No, please.  Do. That’s frickin’ awesome.  You’re a for real superhero!”

 

“I guess I am.” Carol grinned, “Well, I’m glad it worked.  The galaxy needs heroes like you guys in it.”  


Quill tilted his head, “I’m not sure if a former assassin, a big lug, two thugs, an empath and a thief count as ‘heroes’.”

 

“Please.” Carol laughed, “You guys killed Ronan the Accuser.  I couldn’t do that!”

 

Quill looked confused, “You know Ronan?”  


“Yep, major pain in the ass.” she replied, “Anyway, enjoy the celebration.” she turned around and went to go and greet the other heroes she had saved.

 

Quill huffed a laugh, “Well, she was _awesome.”_

 

The other Guardians, accompanied by Thor and a woman in white armour, came over and Quill couldn’t help but smile.

 

“Quill, you’re alive!” Thor grinned, “And you, Gamora.” he winked at her, causing Quill to roll his eyes, “Don’t worry, my friend, she’s all yours.” he signalled to his friends, “This is my friend, Brunnhilde the Valkyrie, Brunnhilde the Valkyrie, meet Quill and Gamora.  They’re some of the ones who found me.”

 

Brunnhilde nodded, “Cool.  Now, I’m going to get a drink, if you don’t mind.” she eyed up Gamora, “Although, you are a pretty one.” she looked at Quill, “Look after her, you’d be a fool to let her go.” she turned around, storming off to the direction where the redhead from earlier stood, both of them immediately delving into a drinking game.

 

“Well, she seems to have taken a liking to Wanda.” Thor commented, “Although Wanda is without her beloved Vision, so she won’t be open.” at Quill’s confused look, he clarified, “Not everyone was revived.  Vision wasn’t killed by or for the Soul Stone, so he cannot return.” he sighed heavily, “Neither… Neither can my brother, nor Heimdall.”

 

Quill rested a hand on Thor’s arm, “I’m sorry, man.”

 

“It’s alright.” Thor shrugged, “I suppose I will have to rebuild Asgard myself, with the remainder of our survivors.”

 

Gamora nodded, “Well, I wish you the best.”  


Thor smiled, then pulled Gamora into an awkward hug before pulling away and turning to Quill.

 

 _“No.”_ Quill groaned, “I don’t do hu--”

 

He was silenced when the God’s arms surrounded him a tight embrace, feeling a rumble of laughter in the other man’s chest.  Thor broke away with another laugh, then walked away from the group.

 

Quill rubbed his arms, “Wow.  He’s _very_ strong.”

 

“Yes, he is.” Gamora gazed at Thor, and at Quill’s jealous head tilt, she laughed, “I’m joking, Peter.  I only have eyes for you.”

 

Mantis ran over and practically jump-hugged Quill, “You are alive!” she laughed, pulling away.

 

“Yes, yes I am.” he replied, “Although, if I keep getting these really tight hugs, that might change.” he turned to Gamora, “Where’s Nebula, by the way?  The whole band’s here, might as well have our drummer, too!”

 

Gamora replied, “She’s on the Milano and in the morning will be doing repairs with T’Challa’s sister Shuri.”  


“Ugh.” Quill groaned, “What did Stark do to my ship?”  


Rocket replied, “It ain’t his fault, Quill.  There ain’t nobody on this Earth teachin’ people how to fly alien spaceships.”

 

“True,” Quill admitted, “So, what do we do until the ship is repaired?”

 

Gamora replied, “Well, there’s always time to waste.  Time to _dance.”_ she took his hand, “Shall we?”

 

Quill nodded, and allowed himself to be led up onto the floor, seeing that Stark was dancing with an unfamiliar woman, someone he obviously seemed to love.  Close to him, Captain America, something Quill _tried_ not to geek out over, was dancing with Bucky Barnes, both gazing into each other’s eyes.

 

Gamora’s voice caught his attention as they swayed, “Hey.”

 

“Yeah?” Quill asked.

 

Gamora replied, “I missed you.”

 

“I missed you too.” Quill replied, “God, I thought I’d never see you again.”

 

Gamora said softly, “Well, I’m here.” she leaned in closer, “And I love you.”

 

“I love you too,” Quill said, and gently leaned down to kiss her.

 

As their lips touched, Quill heard Rocket laugh whilst Stark wolf-whistled and he couldn’t help but laugh and acknowledge how happy he felt in the moment.

 

They had won, and no matter what, they would always win.  He and Gamora would always come running back to one another.

 

Love had won out.

 

**Author's Note:**

> kudos/comments are appreciated!


End file.
